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go for broke

idiom
Meaning

To try everything possible or do every last thing possible in a final attempt.


Origin

first recorded 20th c.

From Hawaiian Pidgin craps slang, meaning “to wager everything on one roll”: one would be broke, i.e. bankrupt, if one lost. Popularized by the movie Go for Broke! (1951), which is named for the 442nd Infantry Regiment’s unit motto.

Examples
SIMPLE

He decided to go for broke and bet all his money.

CONTEXTUAL

With only one minute left in the game, the team decided to go for broke and attack with every player.

COMPLEX

After years of careful saving, she chose to go for broke by investing her entire life savings into her new startup company.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all dressed up and nowhere to go

    Elaborately attired or otherwise fully prepared for an anticipated situation or activity which, nevertheless, fails to occur.

  2. 02

    all systems go

    Everything is ready.

  3. 03

    as you go

    While one is doing (something); as one progresses.

  4. 04

    boldly go where no man has gone before

    To break new ground.

  5. 05

    coals and coke

    [Cockney slang]broke

  6. 06

    come and go

    To repeatedly appear and disappear; to be transient.

  7. 07

    don't go there

    Do not broach that topic.

  8. 08

    easy come, easy go

    Easily won and easily lost (usually said when resigned to a loss; something that comes in the same way, goes in the same way)

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